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Teachers’ Day: NUT urges governors to pay salary arrears
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called on state governors that were owing teachers salary arrears to use their remaining months in office to pay off the arrears.
The Secretary-General of the NUT, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, raised the concern in an interview with newsmen on Tuesday in Abuja ahead of World Teachers’ Day.
World Teachers Day is celebrated on October 5, every year to appreciate teachers for their great deeds.
This year’s celebration is with the theme: “Teachers at the heart of education recovery”.
Ike-Ene said that a good number of state governors owe primary and secondary school teachers months of salary arrears.
In his words, “Many of these teachers have lamented over the inability and irregularities of the state to pay their salaries as and when due following the current economic situation in the country.
“Some state governments owe primary school teachers a backlog of salaries ranging from four to 18 months.”
He, however, commended the state governors who had been committed to paying teachers’ salaries as and when due.
The NUT secretary-general also encouraged teachers to keep on working hard not minding their salary scale.
He urged governments at all levels to provide an enabling environment for teachers to function optimally.
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“When a teacher enters a classroom, there are certain things the teacher is looking out for and when these things are there he or she can perform optimally,” he said.
On the new salary scale for teachers, the NUT secretary-general said that the union and the Federal Government are still working towards its implementation.
Ike-Ene said that the new teachers’ retirement age from 60 to 65 years and 35 to 40 years of service had attained 90 per cent implementation.
“One of the biggest promises had been signed; the issue of 65 and 40 years, the increase of teachers’ service years or retirement age has been signed.
“The Federal Government has implemented it likewise some states but the obstacle there is gazetting. Ever since the president signed it, it has become an act,’’ he said.
He, however, said that gazetting the policy would give it a number and then it would be enshrined into law that one can refer to.
Ike-Ene, therefore, urged the government to expedite action on the gazette as that might be the only way the NUT could engage the state governments to do the needful.
He also called for an upward review of the education budget, saying that it was the only way the country would measure up with developed countries.
(NAN)
